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BETTY DIETZ/SPECIAL PHOTO
Participants at the Wildlife Leadership Academy learn about a variety of game and non-game species, such as this snapping turtle.

While the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission do their part to encourage youngsters to get involved in the outdoors, in order for those youngsters to have a true appreciation of nature and its inhabitants, it helps for them to understand there is more to the outdoors than catching a fish or bagging a squirrel.

Helping to fill that need is the annual Wildlife Leadership Academy, a year-round program that focuses on wildlife and fisheries conservation and leadership development. Institute director Michele Kittell said its mission is to empower youth to become ambassadors for wildlife conservation to ensure a sustained wildlife legacy for future generations.

To that end, each summer the academy makes available three field schools for youth ages 14-17 and adults, many of whom are school teachers, who serve as mentors and participate alongside the students. Each of these schools begin with an intensive, five-day residential experience that focuses on a fish or wildlife species as a springboard for exploring biology, habitat and conservation issues.

According to Kittell, youth also develop leadership skills engaging in team-building activities, educational presentations and mock "town hall" meetings on current topics. Following each field school experience and prepared with the knowledge and the skills from the field school, students complete conservation outreach in their home communities that focuses on environmental education, community service, media engagement and/or participation in the arts.

Applications are now being accepted for field schools that are available this summer: Pennsylvania Bucktails, Pennsylvania Brookies and Pennsylvania Drummers. Bucktails focuses on whitetail deer and is held at Stone Valley Recreation Area, Huntingdon County, Tuesday-Saturday, June 17-21; Brookies focuses on brook trout and coldwater conservation focus and is held at Sieg Conference Center, Clinton County, Tuesday-Saturday, July 8-12; and Drummers focuses on ruffed grouse and is held at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Westmoreland County, Tuesday-Saturday, July 22-26.

"Students have used terms such as 'life changing' about the experiences they have had at the various camps," Kittell said. "Last year one student said that after attending their field school they were able to reach their full potential and find a career path they felt would be very rewarding.

"Almost all of our students leave with the feeling they've had an experience they will cherish and remember the rest of their lives. What we're presenting is a high-quality experience led by the Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation, which is a cooperative initiative and brings the experts to the students.

"Participants are taught by and interact with conservation professionals daily, and these professionals represent agencies, conservation organizations and universities from across the state. One of our instructors, who is a professional ecologist, said the high caliber and sheer number of conservation professionals who are involved as instructors in this program are beyond impressive, but more than that is the commitment of time, energy and passion that each of these instructors gives to the students."

When students return to their communities they share what they have learned, and while attending a camp keep a record book of their conservation outreach efforts. Top outreach achievements qualify students for educational field trips, opportunities to return to field school as mentors and for college scholarships.

"Academy youth have taken the program's mission to heart," Kittell said. "To date, academy graduates have conducted 745 conservation education, communication and service projects; engaged in more than 3,300 contact hours with the public; and reached an audience of more than 15,000 Pennsylvania citizens across 52 counties in the state.

"With 150 students coming the through the academy over the last seven years, the participants are the next generation to speak for wildlife conservation. We believe the leadership of academy youth in their home communities will inspire others to care more, and therefore act more on behalf of conservation and the environment.

"This year, expert instructors at the field schools include representatives from Kutztown University, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania State University, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Trout Unlimited and the Quality Deer Management Association. Youth applications for the 2014 field schools must be received by Tuesday, April 1, and the deadline for adult mentors is Monday, March 17.

Applications to the Wildlife Leadership Academy can be downloaded at www.piceweb.org; for information, contact institute director Michele Kittell at mkittell@piceweb.org or (570) 245-8518.

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